Child sex abuse victim needs help for therapy dog

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BUCKLEY, Wash. -- The therapy dog for a victim of child sex abuse is in need of expensive life-saving surgery. The family contacted the KOMO 4 Problem Solvers to see if you'd be willing to help. The sexual abuse was from a high-profile case.

Cody is a mix of Chow, Rottweiler and Lab and is the constant companion of a 10-year-old girl from Buckley.

"He's like my best friend," the girl said. "So friends stick with each other, so I stick with him." We're not naming the girl or her family because of the nature of the crime.

The 2011 case really stunned the small community of Buckley because the perpetrator was a member of the city council, Randy Reed. He eventually resigned from the city council, pleaded guilty to the charges and served time in jail. He's now out and registered as a sex offender.

But the girl's family says she's still paying for what happened and needs weekly therapy. Cody has been her one constant.

"With the incident, what happened to me even though I'm going through a very rough time, I was out here a lot and Cody helped me get through that rough time," the victim said.

However, Cody is in need of immediate surgery on his ears. He's developed tumors in both ears and is in a lot of pain.

Cody is under the care of Buckley veterinarian Dr. Richard Vetter who says without corrective surgery, "you might be talking about putting the animal down. That much suffering that the animal is going through, it's not fair to the animal."

The veterinarian is offering many of his services at a greatly discounted rate, but at $4,000, it's not something the family can afford on their own.

The girl's mother has reached out to animal welfare groups: "They all told me they couldn't assist me in my situation," she said. "I cried."

That's where you come in. The Problem Solvers has set up a fund to get Cody the life-saving surgery he needs

"And Cody gets to live a pain free life and a happy life," the girl said.

And to help a little girl cope with the awful things that had been done to her.

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